Towards the end of last week there were rumblings of another SKU for the PlayStation 3, rumored to feature a 120-160GB HDD. Shortly before that Nintendo also let slip there would be a new color SKU for the DS lite and it wasn't long ago that the Xbox 360 went through a SKU reshuffle. Now hopefully my repetitive use of the word 'SKU' throughout this opening paragraph is a clear indication of where this blog post is heading.

I hate SKUs with a passion, console SKUs in particular have become a recent sticking point. So far this generation of consoles we have been subject to 11 console variations across all platforms. When did this idea of multiple system configurations become accepted as a good idea? It is quite clear that different SKUs are not what the consumer wants. Each of the inferior options available for each console has fallen miserably on it's face and been laughed at by the gaming community. Technology SKUs do not make any sense what so ever and marketing need to get it out of their heads that it is a good idea. They say they want to 'empower the consumer' and let them choose but all they really do is confuse people.

The problem with this trail of thought is that this is the wrong strategy for a technology driven market. People who follow any sort of technology crave the latest and greatest, when given the option people tend to lean heavily towards the more equipped unit. This was proven with the launches of both the PS3 and Xbox 360, no one brought the lesser SKU if they were interested in games in any capacity and thus they faded into non-existence. So if these options aren't for the hardcore user then who are they meant for? Ah yes, the casual user, the holy grail of any company, if you can grab hold of the mainstream then success will occur. Does this work in said situation? No. These SKUs are meant to give the people who don't follow technology an option when they purchase. OK....this is logically redundant at ever level. Why would you want to offer more features and variety to the person who is confused by the very notion of technology? It's flat out stupid really.

Sony recently posted an announcement that they had made a profit on their games division. Finally they had reached a level where they were making some sort of money out of the PS3. I wonder how many months earlier they would have made such a profit if they weren't messing around with how they wanted to ship their product. Packaging, Printing, Hardware, production line changes, all this costs money and has proven to be a complete waste of time.

So why the rant about SKUs you ask, well I am currently in the market for a PS3. I'm a huge Metal Gear fan and I can't wait for MGS 4. I've got a 360 but I don't want to wait a year or so for the inevitable port that will occur. So I'm stuck wondering do I try and grab a 80GB, 40GB PS3 or wait for this possible new SKU? Do I want half baked backwards compatibility? full compatability? 4 USB? the list goes on. I'll probably wait until the actual launch of MGS 4 and pick up the best suited unit then. In the mean time I would love to play through Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, Resistance but I don't want to be one of those people who buys a product only to have a newer one launch the next week. I can deal with jumping the gun by a couple of months but not days.

At least Nintendo gets it right, sure they milk my wallet every two years but hey they make some of the best games in the world, I wont argue with them.

So whats your take on SKUs? Anyone waiting for a specific SKU on a console before they purchase? Anyone regret buying one type instead of the other?